


To Locate A Lover Boy

by spicefern (orphan_account)



Category: Sanders Sides
Genre: and it's great, and so is roman, because he's roman, is it possible to be gay for a relationship or, lots of slow burn tho, they're both disaster gays, virgil is a hopeless romantic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-10
Updated: 2020-05-05
Packaged: 2021-02-27 14:34:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,508
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22198666
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/spicefern
Summary: Roman is getting gifts from an anonymous source, Virgil is trying not to get found out, and Logan and Patton are just trying to get the two together.
Relationships: Creativity | Roman Sanders/Anxiety | Virgil Sanders, Prinxiety
Comments: 15
Kudos: 51





	1. In Which Patton Sanders Is Us

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, Spice here!  
> I don't have a posting schedule yet, so we'll have to see how much progress I can make, but it'll probably be on the weekends. This is my first ongoing fic, though, so who knows?
> 
> Hope you enjoy!

_This is becoming rather obnoxious,_ Roman thought as he stared down at the white-papered box. _I mean, really, how could someone be so romantic and then just- NOT tell me who they are?_

The gift was one of many that had been left in his room in the past week or two, all carefully wrapped in the same white paper. It had been an ornate scarlet pen first, then a small stained-glass figurine, then a lovely little necklace, and it only went on from there. All of them had been suited completely to his tastes, and he displayed them around his room, with a warning to the others that if they broke them by accident, a price would be paid.

Trying not to make it too obvious, he pulled the box into his room, gently closing the door behind him. When the other three had asked about the trinkets, he’d simply said they were new. It wasn’t technically a lie, but he didn’t want them to figure out who his apparent admirer was before he got the chance to.

“Now,” Roman said aloud to himself, “what are you today?” He cautiously tore the paper in neat strips away from the box and placed it in a miniature chest with the rest of it. Cheesy, yes, but he simply _had_ to figure out who it was, and any clue was better than none.

When he opened the long, thin box, he gasped in awe. It was a portrait of Roman himself in the Imagination, standing on the balcony of his castle. The painting was beautifully rendered, incredible detail captured in the thin strokes of the grass, the stone, his hair. And it was signed- a small, curlicue SN in white resided in the bottom right.

He sighed frustratedly. It was breathtaking, of course, but it gave Roman little-to-no clues about the giver. None of the Sides had the initials S.N… or, at least as far as he was aware, since Deceit still hadn’t revealed his name yet. His last name wouldn’t change from Sanders, though… so who could it be?

Deciding not to focus on identifying the considerate culprit, he hung it right above his bed, where the light illuminated it _just_ right. Then Roman sunk down to the mindscape commons. “Hello, all!” he said cheerfully, voice reaching every corner of the room, including the one where Virgil was sitting with his phone next to the window, headphones seemingly lower than their normal earsplitting volume, as he looked up at the unexpected arrival.

“You seem more sunshine and rainbows than normal,” he said with a raised eyebrow. Roman grinned brightly.

“Of course I am. I’m gay,” he said, puffing out his chest.

“Hadn’t heard,” Virgil replied with an eyeroll. 

Roman didn’t catch his slight smile of fond exasperation as the princely Side turned away, but Logan and Patton sure did, and they shared a knowing glance.

“I have new décoooor,” Roman sang, skipping around the room. “It’s of ME and it’s as stunning as the real thing~”

“Must be barely decent then,” Virgil said with a smirk, and the prince gasped in offense.

“How dare you! It’s absolutely exquisite,” he responded, for once defending something other than himself. The dark-clad Side averted eye contact for some reason, and Roman wondered if there was pink under all that eyeshadow. 

Either way, he danced around the room, rambling about the _color_ and the _realism_ and how _magnificent_ it was. “Oh, you’d never believe it,” Roman breathed happily, then shot straight up in the air as an idea struck him.

“Or maybe you could, if you come to see it!” he suggested, giving a pleading glance to the two Sides with glasses. They agreed easily enough, so Roman turned his gaze on Virgil, nearly begging him to join them.

Eventually, Virgil sighed and gave a nod. Roman cheered and pulled the emo up by the hands, leading the three to his door instead of simply sinking out. As they followed him, Patton grinned at Virgil, who buried his blush in the sleeve of his hand not being held, looking away. 

“Here we are~” the princely Side singsonged, pirouéting excitedly as they entered his room. Unknowingly, he yanked Virgil into a spin as well, and the darker trait froze as his balance overtipped; thanks to Roman’s quick reflexes, he caught him before he hit the floor. 

Virgil squeaked as Roman’s hands settled on his back, nearly dipping him, as if they had been dancing. The latter didn’t notice their position until a moment later.

“O-oh. Uh, sorry, Virgil,” Roman laughed awkwardly, face turning pink as he quickly stood Virgil back up.

“Don’t worry about it, ‘s fine,” came the reply in a mumble as Virgil pulled his hoodie over his face, staring at the floor.

“Well. Anyways,” Roman continued, flustered. He gestured to his bed, momentarily pushing to the back of his mind the rather lovely image of Virgil caught in his arms. “There it is! Isn’t it marvelous?”

Patton made an awed noise and bounced forward to look. “This is so cool!” he exclaimed, tilting his head. Logan approached behind him. 

“It is quite realistic,” he said appreciatively, rare praise from the normally less-than-passionate logical Side showing just how well painted the portrait was.

After a second, Roman hesitantly turned to Virgil. “Do you, uh… wanna come see?” he asked quietly, under the sounds of Patton’s enthusiastic praise. Virgil bit his lip in thought, but as always, he couldn’t resist Roman’s request. 

“...Sure,” he said, shrugging as he stepped over and sat on the bed. His eyes roved his own painting; he didn’t want to go without complimenting it, as he was actually quite proud of it and Roman would be upset if he didn’t, but it felt ...weird, to praise his own work.

Roman was staring at him inquisitively, expression hiding tension, worry that a portrait that wasn’t by him would be… critiqued? Virgil didn’t understand it, but nonetheless, he nodded and said carefully, “The anatomical proportions are done well and the shading is precise.” He looked back at Roman, hoping that was enough, and the prince seemed to be agreeing with him.

“It really is extraordinary, as I’m sure is its creator,” Roman said with a small, genuine smile. Virgil gave him a confused glance as he tried to stop the color flooding his face. “You don't know who painted it?” he asked him. The dramatic Side paused, internally panicking. 

“I, er. The painting was anonymously donated to me,” he conceded, once again pulling a not-lie. “I’m currently trying to figure out who my generous giver is.”

Patton sat down next to Virgil. “What do the initials mean?” he asked curiously. Roman sighed slightly, joining the two on the bed. “I actually don’t know,” he confessed. “I thought it was one of you at first, but your last names are still Sanders, right?”

“Perhaps it’s a pseudonym,” Logan suggested, inspecting the letters, “an alias that a creator might go by in order to sustain mystery.”

The prince hummed thoughtfully as he considered this, and there was a while of quiet. Then, Roman hopped up, conjuring a notebook into his hand. “I’m going to write down possibilities,” he decided. “May I be left alone for a bit? I should be out by dinner.”

The other three nodded, and Logan and Patton sunk out. Virgil lingered for a moment longer, silent, until Roman noticed and inquired, “What’s the matter, my fiendish emo storm cloud?”

Virgil snorted quietly, raising his hand to run it through his hair as he attempted to word his question without it being too suspicious.

“What… what do you think you’d say to the artist if you met h- them?” he asked. Roman pondered this for a moment. “I would shower them in all the praise they deserve. That is to say, a lot,” he added, opening his arms in a grand gesture of… something. Appreciation, maybe?

“Why do you ask?” Roman asked him, stretching. 

“Just wondering,” Virgil replied softly. They looked at one another for a long moment, both unsure of what the other was thinking, and then Virgil gave a dramatic bow that made Roman laugh, sinking out a second later.

Roman smiled at the spot that he had left from for a while after he disappeared, curling up on his bed with a warm feeling in his chest. After some time had passed, a revelation occurred to him, and his eyes widened.

_Holy shit. I have a crush on Virgil._


	2. Update

Hi, Spice here.

I'm sure all who have saved this story have become aware of this, but I haven't updated this since it was posted. School has become overwhelming and my mental health kinda _really_ sucks at the moment.

So as of right now, this story will be put on hiatus until when school is out for the summer and/or I'm in a better mental space. I'm sorry for the wait, and I promise I'll come back better than ever!

Love you all, Spice 🌿


End file.
